Following a successful pilot with West Midlands Police, MIB (Motor Insurers’ Bureau) are expanding their new initiative to tackle uninsured driving. Operation Scalis will see a two-phase expansion, enabling eight police forces to benefit from dedicated resource and uninsured vehicle hotspot data, in order to maximise the impact of their operations.

The initial pilot saw over 175 uninsured vehicles seized by West Midlands Police across 19 days of operations. Uninsured driving is, sadly, not a standalone issue, so vehicle stops during Operation Scalis also helped identify individuals of interest, stolen vehicles and goods, and wider crime networks.

The MIB-led programme will undergo a two-phase expansion. The first wave of operations are already being deployed by West Yorkshire and Essex forces, with 56 uninsured vehicle seizures and 113 secondary-offence prosecutions achieved in the first 11 days. In addition, 12 more vehicles have been seized following being identified as stolen or travelling with no tax.

During late-summer and autumn this year, Greater Manchester, Northumbria, Thames Valley, Northamptonshire and Metropolitan Police will join Operation Scalis, with West Midlands Police undertaking a second stretch of activity.

MIB supports Operation Scalis forces

MIB’s support enables forces to dedicate officer time to focus on tackling uninsured driving in key hotspots across the region. The funding is allocated from MIB’s £5 million investment in increasing their work in getting uninsured drivers off the roads sooner.

Utilising data-driven insights from MIB, activity in each force region will be strategically deployed in different postcode areas. This allows for continuous improvement as officers gain a clearer understanding of high-risk locations with a persistent problem of uninsured drivers.

Officers will also utilise a number of methods to identify uninsured drivers. This includes:

• Operation Tutelage markers, where cars previously passing ANPR cameras have been compared to data on Navigate, the live database of all motor insurance policies, run by MIB. Uninsured vehicles with an Operation Tutelage marker are then flagged to police and dealt with at the roadside.
• Using police intelligence and analysis to establish the whereabouts of uninsured vehicles within narrow timeframes.

To support the eight forces, MIB law enforcement liaison officers are joining operations to provide roadside checking of Navigate and a link to the MIB Police Helpline, speeding up the process of confirming a vehicle's insurance status.

Chief Inspector James Farrar, of West Yorkshire’s Road Policing Unit, said: “Working with MIB will allow us to dedicate our time and focus our efforts. This will allow us to have a targeted approach to identifying and removing uninsured vehicles from roads across the county.

“We will be focusing on areas with the highest levels of uninsured driving throughout West Yorkshire in order to maximise impact, whilst using learning from other forces who are also collaborating with MIB in rolling out Operation Scalis.”

Paul Farley, National Law Enforcement Manager at MIB, said “We know that all priorities are pressing for our police colleagues. However, by supporting forces in designating time to focus on uninsured driving, we know the benefits will be widely felt across all different areas of the force and the community, making roads safer.

Martin Saunders, Head of Enforcement at MIB said “We are excited to witness progress with Operation Scalis – this is just one more way, in a wider range of initiatives, in which we’re making sure that those flouting the law have nowhere to hide.”